Chapter 36
Thirty-Six
FYFE
L ight prodded at my eyelids and I groaned, reluctantly opening them to the request.
I blinked rapidly, my eyes dry and gritty and like there was something foreign in them. Blurred vision cleared somewhat and I realized I’d left my contacts in overnight. Moreover, I’d forgotten to hit the remote on my bedroom blinds, which was why the morning sunlight woke me.
The slight, warm weight of another body had me peering down, and last night came flooding back.
Lying in my arms was the reason I hadn’t taken out my contacts and had forgotten to shut the blinds.
Overwhelming realization moved through me as I stared at the beautiful woman half sprawled across me. Eilidh’s dark curls tickled my chin as a few errant strands escaped upward. The rest spilled down her slender back. One arm was tucked in at my side, while her other rested over my stomach. Claiming me. Her right leg was tangled with mine. I could feel nearly every inch of her gorgeous body against me. Arousal mixed with the dawning recognition that until this moment, something integral had been missing from my life.
Eilidh. Here. In my arms. Waking up to her after a mind-blowing night of sex and intimacy.
I’d never experienced anything like last night.
And I knew I never would if Eilidh chose not to give that to me again.
The very idea was like ice water in my veins, and my hold on her waist tightened.
Staring down at her face, watching her eyelids tremble in sleep, humbled by the way Eilidh unconsciously wrapped herself around my body, making herself vulnerable to me again …
I knew.
I was going to marry this woman.
When I put my mind to something, I achieved it.
The sound of my doorbell ruined the tranquil moment, and Eilidh mumbled in her sleep, rubbing her cheek against my chest.
Tenderness washed through me, followed by irritation at whoever was at the door.
Usually my phone would sound an alert if anyone pulled onto the driveway, but last night we’d left our phones downstairs. Not the most responsible thing I could have done as a parent.
Fuck.
I guess I was still learning.
Anxious to ascertain whether Regan had tried to contact me about Millie, I attempted to move out from under Eilidh without waking her. I’d just rested her against my pillow when the doorbell rang again, jerking her out of sleep.
She blinked wearily as I stood to pull on my discarded joggers. There were condom wrappers on the floor of my bedroom and a caveman smugness rushed through me. At least my woman would never complain about my lack of stamina.
“Someone’s at the door,” I told her, my eyes roaming over her body because I couldn’t help myself.
“Oh.” She sat up on her elbow and yawned before waving me away as it rang again. “It sounds urgent.”
My expression was regretful. I knew she understood because she returned it with a sexy smirk before I hurried downstairs, snatching my phone up first before I checked the security system.
Nothing from Regan, though there was a text from Lewis.
And he and Callie stood outside my front door.
What the … a quick glance at the time on my phone told me it was nine o’clock.
Shit.
I yanked the front door open, feeling like a wee boy who’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
“Finally.” Lewis stepped in, dressed in the same paint-covered clothing from yesterday. Callie followed, a knowing smile trembling on her lips. “Did you sleep in?” Lew asked.
Shutting the door, very much aware I was half-naked and probably reeked of sex and Eilidh, I physically retreated from them, raking a hand through my hair. “Aye, sorry. Just let me shower. Make yourselves at home, have a coffee, there’s food in the?—”
“Fyfe, is everything okaaaaay—” Eilidh had wandered down the stairs in just my T-shirt and now stood midway, gaping in horror at her brother.
Apparently, we’d both forgotten Lewis and Callie were coming over to help finish the nursery.
A snort covered by a cough came from Callie’s direction.
Lewis stared stonily at his sister. Then at me.
I waited, heart pounding.
“Fuck.” He grimaced, shielding the sight of her with his palm. “At least do me the courtesy of hiding it for a while.”
Callie pressed her cheek against Lewis’s back, hugging him from behind. Laughter trembled on her lips. “It’s okay, Adair. Realizing your wee sister is a woman is scary, but we’ll get you through it.”
“Funny,” he huffed but covered her hands with his as he looked at me. “You take care of her or I kill you.”
“Fair.” I clapped him on the shoulder, relieved he wasn’t going to make a big deal out of it. “You guys settle. We’ll shower.”
“Separately. On entirely different continents.” Lewis led Callie into the living space.
“Aye, sure, that’s exactly how we’ll do it,” Eilidh called down to him. “We won’t at all be washing each other’s bodies while you’re downstairs picturing us on separate continents.”
Evil. She was truly evil.
My shoulders shook with laughter as I met her on the stairs.
Her eyes danced with amusement.
Fuck, I loved her.
“Payback, Eils. Payback!” Lewis warned from below.
Eilidh giggled and turned upstairs. I followed her, grinning at the flash of the boxers she’d adorned. She’d pulled on a clean pair of my underwear.
I didn’t know why that was so sexy, but it was.
Between that and walking back into my bedroom to find it musky with the aroma of our exploits last night, I knew I was about to break the bro code.
Despite what she’d joked, Eilidh sat on the end of the bed. “Do you want to shower first?”
“Sure.” I had no intention of showering alone. Instead, I strolled into my bathroom to take my contacts out. The world blurred before me. However, I wasn’t so blind I couldn’t see enough to shower. I did every day. But Eilidh didn’t need to know that. “I’m slightly blind without my contacts. You want to help me out here?”
Eilidh wandered into the bathroom. Her lips trembled with laughter. “You are so full of shit.” Without another word, she whipped off my T-shirt and boxers. Grinning like a fool, I got naked too and hauled her into my generously sized shower.
We did wash and shampoo, but it took us longer than usual because our hands kept wandering to places that were very fucking distracting.
Eilidh had to bite her lip to stifle her cries as I made her come. Twice.